FOWLR to Simple Reef Tank

[Khan]

Calling bro’s and sis,

need ur expert advice to help me transit from FOWLR to simple budget reef.

i always wanted to keep coral but do not where to start. Due to budget issue, I just want to keep it simple and easy for me to explore the options that I have..

Please guide me through..

[Solo77]

Budget reef...sponge, big polyp Zola or paly series, wavy leather series and maybe Some big mushroom type like elephant ear etc. Leather, some lfses sell cheap and got nice one. Just need to know where to go. 

[Franzax]

Soft corals are a great easy start; much more forgiving and hardy and certain LPS. Consider corals such as leather, mushrooms, xenias, zoanthids. These corals can handle salinity swings and changes in parameters better. While they are not bulletproof as all corals still need good conditions, they are more adaptable and hardy.

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[Initium]

I started with FOWLR too and slowly slowly transitioned to a LPS and Softies heavy tank over a year time.

Started with a few friendly reefers giving away cheap zoas to try out, and soon after, is the weekly trips to the lfs to hunt for affordable and easy corals.
Now as the tank is filled full of corals, Started to buy the more premium lps and soft corals to make the tank stand out more.

Go slow and mistakes will surely be made, but pull it through and you will end up with a rewarding tank that makes your friends all go wow!

[Khan]

Thx u all for sharing and advising me.. I’ll take all ur recommendations coral to start with..
Right now I’m more knowledgeable on which coral that I can start with..
But the next qn will be...
If I transit over to reef..
Wat are the things I need to adjust from my existing tank?
Do I need chiller, expensive lighting, wave maker and some water chemistry?
Will it be a huge expenses...
Pls advice...


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[Initium]

Even the easy to keep corals have some basic requirements. In general, keep your tank under 29 degrees, have a decent light that have a spectrum to grow corals, and ensure tank got decent flow all around.

With that in mind, your water parameters need to be stable. I lost some corals due to tank need time to mature and once its stable, the corals grow very fast. Then once you mastered that, can move on to most LPS and soft corals. Only a few months ago i started dosing and feeding coral food to keep the harder to grow corals.

Tank equipment wise, if you are patient and willing to do enough research, you can score really good deals second hand. 

How big is your tank? Hard to recommend equipment without knowing what size tank you have. And also what is your tank goals eventually, do you want to focus more on LPS/Soft corals, or have a tank full of SPS? 

[Khan]

Yes that’s true...
I’ve done some research from YouTube but still I prefer local advice that are from the experience reefers..
So if let say the tank need to be 29’ do I need chiller?
Anything I can get from Lazada or etc..
Finding Smth around my budget that I can buy slowly and complete it..
My tank is 4ft wide, 2.5ft high and 1.5ft dept.. it’s more to a partition tank if u knw wat I meant...
I thx u so much for guiding me


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[Khan]

Oh and for my tank goals..
I would like to have simple corals with fish that is low in budget..
now that I’m only FOWLR, I would love to have few easier corals at least ...

I believe that full coral tank that are very beautiful also come with cost and huge commitment that I cudnt afford much..



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[Khan]

Pls advise


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[Initium]

Let me first proof that it is possible to get a tank filled with corals on the low budget.

No chiller, using tap water, and mostly using basic equipment from my freshwater setup, and its running for over a year, most of the corals in here are from small frags and grow to decent size colony, and more than half the corals here are almost a year old.

BUT my method had its own flaw and in the long term, i wouldnt recommend it. Just sharing that it is not required to spend a load of money to keep corals, but spending that extra money will help make life easier.

[Initium]

I had two saltwater tank in my room, and only one tank managed to keep corals happy, the other always kill any coral i put in. The main difference of the two tank is its shape, the coral tank is a 18cm tall 60cm long by 30cm wide tank. It is extremely shallow for its size, and thus more surface area for evaporation thus no chiller is possible. The other tank is a generic cube shape tank that always is warmer than my shallow tank.

So just based on this alone, for your tank size, really recommend you to get a chiller instead. Unless you can somehow keep it at a constant 29 degrees or lower. Just at 29 alone is quite restrictive on what corals you can keep, so why not spend more on a chiller and you can then have no temperture issues and can keep most corals.

[Khan]

Let me first proof that it is possible to get a tank filled with corals on the low budget.

No chiller, using tap water, and mostly using basic equipment from my freshwater setup, and its running for over a year, most of the corals in here are from small frags and grow to decent size colony, and more than half the corals here are almost a year old.

BUT my method had its own flaw and in the long term, i wouldnt recommend it. Just sharing that it is not required to spend a load of money to keep corals, but spending that extra money will help make life easier.

Wow... this is very beautiful...
I’m really surprised that you are able to keep it by using wat u had from the fresh water equipment...


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[Khan]

I had two saltwater tank in my room, and only one tank managed to keep corals happy, the other always kill any coral i put in. The main difference of the two tank is its shape, the coral tank is a 18cm tall 60cm long by 30cm wide tank. It is extremely shallow for its size, and thus more surface area for evaporation thus no chiller is possible. The other tank is a generic cube shape tank that always is warmer than my shallow tank.

So just based on this alone, for your tank size, really recommend you to get a chiller instead. Unless you can somehow keep it at a constant 29 degrees or lower. Just at 29 alone is quite restrictive on what corals you can keep, so why not spend more on a chiller and you can then have no temperture issues and can keep most corals.

Well I guess I have to look ard for those budget chiller or 2nd hand one to consider...
any recommendations wat kind of capacity of chiller I need for my tank size?


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[Initium]

Then for water, FOWLR can just use tap water with cheap salt mix, but coral tank is different. Coral tank is always recommended to use RO/DI water with a trusted brand salt mix graded for coral reef tank.

The reason being, Fishes is not as sensitive to the water quality than corals, and i am guessing you are using somewhat cheaper lights that does not accelerate the algae growth. For coral tanks, the lights will be very good at promoting algae growth, and if your water have high TDS such as Nitrate and Phosphate, which are the main food source for algae, you will have endless algae issues.

Then for my own tank, i managed to use tap water to grow corals, yes it will work, but you will have endless battles with algae and the time and effort needed to deal with it plus the unslightly algae makes RO/DI water worth it.

[Initium]

Just now, Khan said:

Well I guess I have to look ard for those budget chiller or 2nd hand one to consider...
any recommendations wat kind of capacity of chiller I need for my tank size?


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For chiller, i am unsure what size is recommened, i think googling around will find a few answers. But keep in mind, its always better to oversize your chiller than undersize it. If oversized, the chiller can cool down the water faster and less often thus more efficient. If undersized the chiller will take a long time to cool and be always kicking in, and thus less efficient as it gets really hot when its kicking in.

[Khan]

Then for water, FOWLR can just use tap water with cheap salt mix, but coral tank is different. Coral tank is always recommended to use RO/DI water with a trusted brand salt mix graded for coral reef tank.

The reason being, Fishes is not as sensitive to the water quality than corals, and i am guessing you are using somewhat cheaper lights that does not accelerate the algae growth. For coral tanks, the lights will be very good at promoting algae growth, and if your water have high TDS such as Nitrate and Phosphate, which are the main food source for algae, you will have endless algae issues.

Then for my own tank, i managed to use tap water to grow corals, yes it will work, but you will have endless battles with algae and the time and effort needed to deal with it plus the unslightly algae makes RO/DI water worth it.

That’s few things that I need to consider before goin for reef tank..

Yes I’m only using the light that was given to me with the custom made aquarium.. but there still algae grow tho.. that I need to clear off time to time


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[Khan]

For chiller, i am unsure what size is recommened, i think googling around will find a few answers. But keep in mind, its always better to oversize your chiller than undersize it. If oversized, the chiller can cool down the water faster and less often thus more efficient. If undersized the chiller will take a long time to cool and be always kicking in, and thus less efficient as it gets really hot when its kicking in.

Ok well noted...
Will start my research tmr


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[Initium]

My experience is with smaller tanks, thus I dont dare to recommend you things for a larger tank. Its easy to recommend you the best equipment such as Radions and Vortechs, but dont want to scare you away with the high cost.

Perhaps other reefers here can chime in and help you out.

You also can PM me your contact and we can chat more and share my budget reefing opinions with you. 

[Initium]

Just for fun, I am planning my future tank when I get my own place to live, and it will be 5 ft by 2.5ft by 2ft tall. And after calculating the cost of the equipment for just an LPS/Soft coral dominated tank, its almost hitting a 5 digit cost.

But of course can cut the cost into half if get inferior brand equipment.

[Khan]

Just for fun, I am planning my future tank when I get my own place to live, and it will be 5 ft by 2.5ft by 2ft tall. And after calculating the cost of the equipment for just an LPS/Soft coral dominated tank, its almost hitting a 5 digit cost.

But of course can cut the cost into half if get inferior brand equipment.

Wow... that is so expensive but then again.. if it’s for interest and passion I guess it’s more satisfying


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[Khan]

My experience is with smaller tanks, thus I dont dare to recommend you things for a larger tank. Its easy to recommend you the best equipment such as Radions and Vortechs, but dont want to scare you away with the high cost.

Perhaps other reefers here can chime in and help you out.

You also can PM me your contact and we can chat more and share my budget reefing opinions with you. 

Ok.. let’s wait for the others to advice as well.,
Well thx u for sharing..I’ve learnt few things from u as well.. hope this is a learning journey for me as well


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[loonz]

Not sure if this was mentioned but what fishes do you have? Are they reef-safe? Some fishes are known to nip at corals and you wouldnt want that to happen.

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[Khan]

Not sure if this was mentioned but what fishes do you have? Are they reef-safe? Some fishes are known to nip at corals and you wouldnt want that to happen.

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Yes I’m aware of the fishes that is not reef safe.
Mine all are good and safe for corals..
I guess now I need to search for a chiller to have my temp down to 29 atleast


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